The Sumi Collection

Introducing the Sumi Collection. It's the key to the ultimate minimal workspace. It balances premium materials and a deep, rich black color achieved through a hand-dying process using traditional Japanese calligraphy ink.

Available now across our flagship products.

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What is Sumi?

墨とは何か?

Sumi ink is made by collecting soot from oil lamps and combining with binders to form a rich, black ink. It's typically used for traditional ink paintings and calligraphy.

Sketchy animation showing steps of creating sumi ink. An oil lamp, scraping soot, mixing with water, painting onto wood.

Why Sumi?

なぜ墨?

Our brand has come full circle, back to co-founder Ken Tomita’s roots in furniture and his Japanese heritage. Two decades ago in graduate school he experimented with many ways of blackening wood. The best result was the same sumi ink he had used growing up. Later, as a furniture maker he built an entire collection around using the ink in his pieces.

Wool and blackened walnut desk station with matching wood keyboard tray and MacBook stand.

Blackened Walnut MacBook Dock with matching all black desk shelf.

Front view of the entire All-Black Collection—medium desk shelf, keyboard tray, wrist rest, mouse pad, iPhone stand and more.

Blackened Walnut Laptop Stand with matching black monitor stand.

The blackened walnut desk shelf's integrated storage shelf holding both a 12.9 inch iPad Pro and 9.7 inch iPad.

Rear view of the blackened walnut shelf showing the back edge of the bent metal shelf, designed to keep your stuff in place, while leaving space for hidden cord acce

Small medium and large black desk trays with varying sizes compartments, pulled out from a blackened walnut desk shelf.

The Right Black

あるべき黒

The Sumi Collection is built on that legacy and the rich finish the ink creates in the wood. It's a labor intensive process, but it's the only way. The deep, restrained black complements the other materials in the collection, and creates a warm minimalism. We've been making things the hard way since 2009, and the sumi collection is no different.

Whenever I need just the right black, I go back to the sumi ink I used as a kid.

KEN TOMITA

Co-Founder

Meet the Collection

From desk shelves to the note taking kit, get our flagship products in a premium look that goes with everything.

In Your Cart

The Sumi Collection

What is Sumi?墨とは何か?

Why Sumi?なぜ墨?

The Right Blackあるべき黒

Whenever I need just the right black, I go back to the sumi ink I used as a kid.

Meet the Collection

Further Reading

The Desk Shelf System

The Desk Pad

The White Oak Collection

Design Inspires

What is Sumi?

墨とは何か?

Why Sumi?

なぜ墨?

The Right Black

あるべき黒